The numbers show it: Local real estate's back

By JOHN HIELSCHER

Wednesday

Jan 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The Southwest Florida real estate market roared back in 2012, based on local brokerage operations' performances.

Sarasota-based Michael Saunders & Co. generated a collective $2 billion in residential and commercial sales last year, its highest total since 2005's $3 billion -- near the zenith of the region's residential boom.

The company in 2012 sold 6,012 units -- all but 386 of them residential -- to set a new in-house record in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. That figure was 25 percent higher than in 2011, the company said.

"We could not be more delighted by these results, as they lend further testimony to the strength of our market's recovery and to its incredible long-term resiliency," CEO Michael Saunders said.

Unit sales totaled 3,052, a 34 percent jump over the year, though Premier Sotheby's market area also includes properties in Naples, Tampa and St. Petersburg.

The luxury broker said it was involved in half of the 10 largest transactions in Sarasota County last year, including 2012's highest sale of $7.5 million at 1486 Hillview Dr. The high-end market "has recovered tremendously," the firm said.

"Reduced inventory as a result of buyers coming off of the sidelines as the market improves has generated more demand to purchase now, and foreign investment has been a significant driver of this activity, particularly from Canada," Premier Sotheby's noted.

Peter Crowley, president of Re/Max Alliance Group in Sarasota, did not have hard numbers tallied yet, but said unit sales in the region rose more than 20 percent in 2012. At the same time, he believes the firm's total dollar volume was close to 30 percent higher than in 2011.

"The hit that we've taken in our average price has brought a lot more buyers to our market, allowed them to be able to afford the inventory that is here," Crowley said. "That is changing rapidly, as our inventory is dwindling pretty quickly."

Coldwell Banker could not release local sales figures until its publicly traded parent company, NRT LLC, reports next month. But Clark Toole, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, noted that 2012 brought a "significant turnaround" that was felt here and across the state.

"Both foreign and domestic buyers are back, and homes in all price ranges that are priced appropriately are selling quickly, from small bungalows in Port Charlotte to the $6.35 million Lido Key home one of our agents sold just before New Year's Eve," he said.

Saunders said her firm, which has more than 550 agents, outperformed the overall market. Closed dollar volume for the entire three-county residential real estate market rose 22 percent, while the company's dollar volume increased 32 percent.

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